Monster Face Cloths

How cute are these little monster cloths from Haberdashery Fun?! My little guy would LOVE using these during bath time!!


See the Monster Face Cloths.

Crafting for Baby - Monster Hooded Towel from Hillmade

**Oh my goodness, you guys. I feel awful! This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I accidentally scheduled it for today, and didn't notice until last night when I hopped onto the computer to do blog stuff. I was blogging after midnight and chose the next day when I shouldn't have. I hope Renae will forgive me!! But, lucky you...two projects in one day!!**

I'm a sucker for making things for kids that have animation and personality. I just think they're so cute. That's why this towel from Renae at Hillmade is on my to-do list. This would made such a cute new baby gift!

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Hello! I am Renae and I blog over at Hillmade. Hillmade is a place where I share the things that I make and do. A good majority of it revolves around the fun I have with my two little girls. I also post projects I (or my husband) have done around the house, and occasionally recipes we love. 

I love to sew. In the 4 years since my first daughter was born sewing has really become my passion. I guess I take after my mom, she sewed a lot when us kids were small- she says it was her stress relief. Sewing is where I feel most at home creating. So, today I chose to share with you a pattern I made for an infant hooded towel.

Besides a love for sewing, I also love monsters. I think they are adorable and just plain fun!  Once I spotted this monster fabric at the store, it was pretty much a done deal. The hooded towel became a monster hooded towel. You can use this same pattern to make a non-monster hooded towel, just skip over the applique parts.

Ready to get sewing!?

You will need:

• 1 yard terry cloth
• 1 yard cotton fabric
• scraps of white fabric
• scraps of black fabric
• small pieces of  fusible web (like Wonder Under)
• pattern (found here)

All seam allowances are 3/8" (the edge of the presser foot for me).

Step 1: Print out the pattern, cut out the pieces, and assemble the hood piece (labeled A, B, and C).

Step 2: Cut the terry cloth down to 30" x 30". You will have some fabric left over, save it, you'll need it for the hood pieces. Also cut the cotton fabric to 30" x 30". Take the excess terry cloth fabric, fold it over lengthwise and pin and cut out the hood pattern piece (like in the image below). 

Using the scraps of white fabric, and the white of eye pattern piece cut out the eyes. Use the white fabric to cut out the teeth as well. Do the same with the scraps of black fabric and the pupil pattern piece.

All cut and ready to sew! (This image is missing the teeth, they were an after thought.)

Step 3: Following the product instructions, iron the fusible web to the back of the eyes, pupils, and teeth. Peel off the paper backing.

Step 4: Lay out the eyes and teeth on one of the hood pieces. Make sure the eyes aren't too high or close to the edge, remember the seam allowance (3/8"). I placed the eyes approx. 1 1/2" from the top of the piece, and approx. 2" from the side. See the image below:

Iron in place.

Step 5: Applique around the eye and teeth pieces. I used a zig-zag stitch. I set the sitch width to 2.5 and the length to 1.5. The scrap fabric I used was knit, which doesn't fray, so a small zig-zag works fine. If you use a fabric that fays easily, like cotton, you may want to tighten up the stitch width.

If you haven't ever done applique don't be scared off by it! I hadn't either until this towel. It really is pretty easy, just go slow. Take your time and it'll turn out great! Around the curves, if you need to, don't hesitate to leave the needle down, lift the presser foot and pivot the fabric slightly. Tight curves can be tricky, doing this helps a lot!

Step 6: Now take both hood pieces. With the right sides together, stitch along the bottom of the hood. Turn right side out and press.

Step 7: Use the corner rounding piece to round the edges of the 30" x 30" pieces of fabric (both terry cloth and cotton). Either pin the piece in place and cut around it, or use a pen with disappearing ink to trace around the pattern piece. 

Step 8: With the right sides together, pin all pieces in place. Sandwich the hood between the terry cloth and cotton fabric.

Step 9: Starting in the middle of one edge, sew the towel together. Be sure to leave a 6 inch gap so you can turn it right side out.

It is helpful to mark the gap with double pins, so you don't accidentally sew it closed.

Step 10: Turn the towel right side out and press. Topstitch around the towel, closing the 6 inch gap.

You're done! I know it looks like a lot of work, but it really is pretty simple. The most time consuming part is cutting out the fabric and assembling the monster hood.

Do you share my love of monsters? This isn't the first time I've crafted a monster. Hop over and check out the zipper mouthed plush monsters (or Munsters) I shared on my blog. Say hi while you're there!

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Adorable, right? That little monster face just makes me smile!

 

Don't forget to check out all of the other posts from our Crafting for Baby series and the Crafting for Baby Link Party. So many good ideas!!

Easy to Make Towel Hooks

Restoration Beauty decided she liked the look and function of hooks instead of the normal towel bar, so she made her own. Aren't they fabulous?

 

See the Easy to Make Towel Hooks.

3-in-1 Beach Towel Tote

Redfly Creations made this beach towel tote for all those summer pool and beach trips! This would be so handy! Sand always gets everywhere at the beach, and instead of digging it out, just shake it and throw it in the washer. How awesome is that!?

See the 3-in-1 Beach Towel Tote.

Lion Hooded Towel

 

Crazy Little Projects has an ADORABLE tutorial to make a super cute hooded towel. These would make a great baby shower or birthday gift! She has a few other hooded towel patterns also, while so you're there, check those out too.

 

See the tutorial for the Lion Hooded Towel.

 

Wooden Crate Linen Closet

Need a linen closet in your bathroom?   Try using a bunch of crates like Gingerly Made did.  It looks great, can be rearranged or just removed very easily.   Great idea!

See the portable crate linen closet.

Vintage Faucet Towel Hangers

When we actually get around to redoing our bathroom, I would love to incorporate these vintage faucets as a place to hand the towels!  Aren't they awesome?  So fun!   Something Created Everyday created this lovely bathroom!!!

See the vintage faucet towel hangers.

Wedding Gift Galore!

With all the upcoming wedding this month, we all need ideas to give as gifts. Here are a few that I think any bride and groom would love! Link up your wedding gifts ideas at the bottom.

Anything with the couple's new last name makes newlyweds happy! It will be displayed for years (or at least until a new baby comes)! The Creative Crate created this personalized name blocks HERE.

His and Hers gifts are very fun! Make something like this for the bathroom or closet or maybe even a key rack. Lots of ideas for his/hers gifts. This idea is from All Things Beautiful!

Be the guest who gets the most compliments by making a wedding towel cake for a wedding gift. Can you hear the ooohs and aaaahs? The Pretty Policy made this cute You can also make some for the kitchen with kitchen towels or dishtowels, adding gadgets with long handles, like utensils, garden hand tools or anything else long and skinny! Way to cool!

I love these alphabet art photos. They would be great wedding gifts for anyone (especially if you created one with the newlyweds last name)! Read this post at Reinvented by Little Lizard King. She shares how to make these photo words by yourself (with the help of the internet.) See the fun idea HERE.

Monograms on the newlyweds initials with a big ampersand make a great gift! Who wouldn't love something like this hanging on a wall? Are We There Yet? shows how to make these gifts. (via Creative Crate.)

You've seen the fun gifts and signs with words or names spelled from objects. Take that idea one step farther by making a "date" sign or gift using various mismatched numbers. Perfect for a wedding/anniversary! Wouldn't that be fun with the person's first or last name written above or to the side of the numbers? I see this starting a new wedding gift trend. Learn how to make these at Hope Studios. Go HERE.

If the couple is LDS, anything with a temple on it makes a great gift. See how to make these personalized temple blocks HERE at Oopsey Daisy.

I personally think this is a grand idea for a wedding gift. No bride wants to go without knowing the in-laws important dates (namely birthdates). You may need to explain what it is and how to use it in a card, but it will be well-accepted. Learn how to make perpetual birthday calendars for yourself and as gifts for others on Nannygoat.

What wedding gifts can you add?

Please join your crafty post if, and only if, it corresponds with the category and theme of WEDDING GIFTS. (If it doesn't fit in this category, please link it up to Whatever Goes Wednesday.) Link up crafts, decor, sewing projects, food, tips, etc, that has to do with WEDDING GIFTS. If you have joined a WEDDING GIFTS project to a party on my blog before, feel free to add it to this show too! If you have a lot of mirror projects, please choose your favorites. (Please no more than 4 posts per blog). Link to the specific posts, not to your main blog page.

Let's see what you have created (either recently or in the past)!

You can paste the "Categorically Crafting" button onto your blog post. I would love to see these floating around so more people can post their themed projects. I will leave this linky post open until next CC Show. Keep checking back for more ideas!!!
The next 3 Categorically Crafting Shows are as follows:

August 13 - Back To School

August 20 - Beach

August 27 - Lamps

And don't forget that this coming week is the Back 2 School Bash here at Someday Crafts. I am still accepting tips, traditions, crafts and giveaways for the week. Please email me at somedaycrafts@gmail.com to participate or submit an idea!